IOWA, USA — Last week's derecho left thousands of Iowans without power, and some people still don't have power.
According to Iowa law, power companies are only able to repair certain electrical equipment. Sometimes, these companies aren't able to repair parts because an electrician needs to get to it first.
That's the homeowner's responsibility.
MidAmerican Energy and Alliant Energy are two of Iowa's largest power companies. Both have diagrams on what they are responsible for maintaining and what customers are responsible for.
Overhead Service
Both of these power companies are responsible for repairing electric service lines and the electric meter at your home.
Customers are responsible for repairing attachment hardware, weather head, mast/riser and the meter box. That means you'll need to find an electrician to repair these items before the power company can work.
A MidAmerican Energy diagram below shows where these spots are.
Alliant Energy below also posted to Facebook, showing their diagram of who is responsible for what for overhead service.
Underground Service
As for underground services, both MidAmerican and Alliant are responsible for the underground service line and the meter.
Customers should seek an electrician to work on the meter socket and the riser conduit. The image below from Alliant energy shows the difference between underground and overhead services.
Here is a look at MidAmerican's diagram for underground servicing:
Reach out to your power company after an electrician makes repairs on the equipment you're responsible for.
Download the We Are Iowa app or subscribe to Local 5's "5 Things to Know" email newsletter.
WATCH: Iowa derecho coverage on Local 5's YouTube page